Conway Stoughton LLC

Focus and practice areas

Civil litigation is the whole business here. The firm, based in Hartford, Connecticut, tries cases to verdict and appears in state courts, federal courts, and administrative agencies across the state. It sorts its work into five practice areas: tort litigation, insurance, business, administrative litigation, and alternative dispute resolution.

Insurance work sits close to the center of the client list. Conway Stoughton represents insurers, their insureds, businesses, and individuals. In my opinion, that spread tells you something useful: the firm sees a dispute from more than one seat, which is common among litigation groups that handle both coverage questions and the claims underneath them.

How the team is built

The firm was founded in 2003 by Matt Conway and Paul Stoughton, who met as hockey teammates. Since then it has grown to about twenty attorneys while keeping a single office in Hartford. The firm describes itself as one of the larger firms in Greater Hartford. Twenty lawyers under one roof is a real size for a litigation group that stays in one city.

The roster carries three title tiers: Managing Principal, Principal, and Associate Attorney. Matthew G. Conway holds the Managing Principal title. Paul H. D. Stoughton is listed as a Principal, along with Heather J. Adams, Yelena Akim, Joshua Chapps, and Scott Kelleher. The associate ranks include Tucker Alissi, Samantha Barnes, Patrick M. Conway, Joshua Crow, Benjamin R. Godley, and Andrew O'Sullivan.

As a reviewer, I read that title structure as a plain hierarchy: principals who own the client relationships and associates who carry much of the case work. In many litigation firms, principals argue the major hearings and set strategy, while associates handle discovery, research, and drafting. The team page lists names and titles. It does not publish individual bios, law schools, or bar admission years on the pages we reviewed, so a prospective client gets the shape of the firm and can ask for the rest directly.

How the firm approaches a case

The firm describes a method built around early assessment. It weighs the strengths and weaknesses of each matter with the client, then chooses a route. The options it names are motion practice, direct negotiation, alternative dispute resolution, and trial before a judge or jury. That kind of early read helps a client decide how much time and money a fight is worth.

Choosing the route

Motion practice can settle the direction of a case well before trial. A motion to dismiss tests whether the complaint states a valid claim. A motion for summary judgment asks the court to rule when the main facts are not in dispute. A firm that names motion practice as a first option treats these tools as an early part of the plan.

Trial stays on the table as one outcome among several. A bench trial puts the decision with a judge. A jury trial puts it with a panel of citizens. The firm's own description points to verdict work as part of its regular practice, and that shapes how it reads a case from the start.

What the practice areas involve

Insurance and tort claims

Tort litigation and insurance make a natural pair. Tort claims turn on injury and liability. Insurance policies decide who pays and how much. A firm that handles both can work the liability question and the coverage question inside the same file.

The business area rounds out the civil work. Commercial disputes of this kind run to contract claims, partnership disagreements, and money owed. Set next to the firm's insurance and tort matters, it gives the litigation team a wide civil docket to draw on.

Resolution outside a full trial

Alternative dispute resolution covers mediation and arbitration. In mediation, a neutral third party helps both sides look for a settlement and holds no power to force one. In arbitration, a neutral hears the dispute and issues a decision that can bind the parties. A firm that lists this as a practice area handles these tracks next to its courtroom work.

Administrative litigation plays out inside government agencies. These matters often begin with a hearing before an agency officer, and a court appeal can follow. Licensing and insurance disputes frequently move along this path. Listing it as its own area points to steady work in those forums.

Where the firm fits in Greater Hartford

Conway Stoughton has stayed in one Hartford office through its whole run. That single-location model keeps principals and associates in the same building, which can help a trial team share witnesses, experts, and calendar pressure across matters. Cases that share a courthouse or a judge can be staffed without travel between offices.

The client base gives the firm reach on both sides of many disputes. It acts for insurers and for the people and companies those insurers cover. It also represents businesses and individuals in their own right. Connecticut civil disputes can run through the state courts, the federal courts, or an agency, and the firm names all three as places it appears. The firm has held a single Hartford office since 2003, and its team now runs to about twenty attorneys across the principal and associate ranks.